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When a tainted drug starts claiming lives across the city, Detective Harriet Foster and her team race to track down the source…before it takes one of their own.
Chicago’s finest are scouring the city for a tainted new opioid making the rounds, but they’re coming up empty. With five people already dead—a college kid, a new mother, and three poker players—all they really know is the drug’s Edge. Where it’s coming from is still anyone’s guess.
Detective Harriet Foster doesn’t have time for guessing games. She needs answers. And when the next overdose hits Homicide where it hurts most, Harri is determined to get what she wants. But keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder than expected.
Still reeling from her last case (and the stain of suspicion it left on her career), Harri finds herself at a tipping point. The drug isn’t the only edge she needs to worry about. If she can’t come back from her own, there’s no telling whether this investigation will lead to a satisfying conclusion…or her own demise.
Chicago’s finest are scouring the city for a tainted new opioid making the rounds, but they’re coming up empty. With five people already dead—a college kid, a new mother, and three poker players—all they really know is the drug’s Edge. Where it’s coming from is still anyone’s guess.
Detective Harriet Foster doesn’t have time for guessing games. She needs answers. And when the next overdose hits Homicide where it hurts most, Harri is determined to get what she wants. But keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder than expected.
Still reeling from her last case (and the stain of suspicion it left on her career), Harri finds herself at a tipping point. The drug isn’t the only edge she needs to worry about. If she can’t come back from her own, there’s no telling whether this investigation will lead to a satisfying conclusion…or her own demise.
330 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 2, 2025
497 people are currently reading
3219 people want to read
About the author
Tracy Clark
8 books926 followersTracy Clark, a native Chicagoan, is the author of the Cass Raines Chicago Mystery series, featuring ex-cop turned PI Cassandra Raines. A multi-nominated Anthony, Lefty, Edgar, Macavity, and Shamus Award finalist, Tracy is also the 2020 and 2022 winner of the G.P. Putnam’s Sons Sue Grafton Memorial Award and the 2022 Sara Paretsky Award, which honors crime writers from the Midwest. Tracy was also nominated for the 2022 Edgar for Best Short Story for “Lucky Thirteen,” which was included in the crime fiction anthology “Midnight Hour.” She is a proud member of Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime and serves on the boards of Bouchercon National and the Midwest Mystery Conference. HIDE, her new, police procedural, featuring Det. Harriet Foster of the Chicago Police Department, released in January 2023. The second entry in that series, FALL, releases in 2024. Tracy loves old black-and-white movies, a good nap, and a really spicy ginger snap served with ice-cold milk. When she’s not writing, she’s thinking about writing and admits to finding characters in the most unusual places.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
November 14, 2025
When Chicago Detective Harriet Foster (Harri) finds a young man dead and a girl barely breathing from a drug overdose in a skate park, she suspects a bad batch of opiod laced with something potent is on the streets. The girl she helped to save is the niece of one of their own, Detective Matt Kelley, so even as more deaths occur from this new drug called ‘Edge,’ the hunt for those distributing the drug becomes personal for Harri and her Homicide partner Vera Li.
Harri is also very much on the edge herself as she still hasn’t come to terms with the death of her son Reg and her police partner G as well as being suspected of killing the man who killed G. Harri is a smart, resourceful cop but If she doesn’t cope with her trauma soon she may very well be pushed over that edge.
This is an enjoyable, gritty addition to this series, exploring the ripples that a death from drugs causes in a community, the families and the police involved. The action is fast paced and often intense. As always, I enjoyed the relationship and interactions between Harri and Li (and their boss Sharon Griffin). I also enjoyed meeting tough ex-cop PI Cass Raines (from Clark’s Cass Raines series), who always seems to be one step ahead of the police (which really irritates Li) and would love to see more of her interacting with Harri and Li in the future.
With thanks to Thomas & Mercer for a copy to read via Netgalley
Harri is also very much on the edge herself as she still hasn’t come to terms with the death of her son Reg and her police partner G as well as being suspected of killing the man who killed G. Harri is a smart, resourceful cop but If she doesn’t cope with her trauma soon she may very well be pushed over that edge.
This is an enjoyable, gritty addition to this series, exploring the ripples that a death from drugs causes in a community, the families and the police involved. The action is fast paced and often intense. As always, I enjoyed the relationship and interactions between Harri and Li (and their boss Sharon Griffin). I also enjoyed meeting tough ex-cop PI Cass Raines (from Clark’s Cass Raines series), who always seems to be one step ahead of the police (which really irritates Li) and would love to see more of her interacting with Harri and Li in the future.
With thanks to Thomas & Mercer for a copy to read via Netgalley
September 5, 2025
“It’s a choice, you know. To live in the light or suffer in darkness.”
I think this one is the best of the series so far!
I can always count on Tracy Clark to give me the full setting. Her books are filled with tension within the department, anxious thoughts of the detective, the push and pull between dirty/clean cops, the battle between jurisdictions regarding pulling evidence for cases, and the elimination process detectives work through in coming to a working hypothesis. This time, I was very aware of Harri’s escalating desperation, of officers pulling rank, the toll a community death takes on officers, how off-duty cops are never really ‘off duty’, and the hopelessness of the drug war.
I enjoyed an exploration of how a party drug affected not only the consumer, but also family members and the community. I also appreciated the reminder that there’s no shame in asking for help and that sometimes the greater good needs to be considered. It was good to get to know Detective Harriet Foster a little better and see how she’s coping with her trauma. I’m already eagerly awaiting the next installment.
I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.
I think this one is the best of the series so far!
I can always count on Tracy Clark to give me the full setting. Her books are filled with tension within the department, anxious thoughts of the detective, the push and pull between dirty/clean cops, the battle between jurisdictions regarding pulling evidence for cases, and the elimination process detectives work through in coming to a working hypothesis. This time, I was very aware of Harri’s escalating desperation, of officers pulling rank, the toll a community death takes on officers, how off-duty cops are never really ‘off duty’, and the hopelessness of the drug war.
I enjoyed an exploration of how a party drug affected not only the consumer, but also family members and the community. I also appreciated the reminder that there’s no shame in asking for help and that sometimes the greater good needs to be considered. It was good to get to know Detective Harriet Foster a little better and see how she’s coping with her trauma. I’m already eagerly awaiting the next installment.
I was gifted this copy and was under no obligation to provide a review.
August 11, 2025
Welcome to Edge, #4 in the Detective Harriet Foster series. I love what a strong character Harri is! She's tough and smart as she works the mean streets of the Windy City. I still love Vera, as well! She and Harri make a fabulous team. However, keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder for Harri than expected.
Harri is still dealing with the repercussions of her previous case, which has left her career under suspicion. (There is nothing quite like feeling as though one's every move is being examined under a microscope!)
Chicago's finest are scouring the city for a new and tainted opioid making the rounds, but they're coming up empty. With five people already dead: A college kid, a new mother, and three poker players. All they know is that the drug is called Edge. I hope Ms. Clark keeps this series going for a long time, and that Cassi Raine and her friends keep showing up!
#StrongFemaleProtagonist #BlackDetective #Friendship #Suspense #TracyClark
Thank you, #ThomasAndMercer, for providing this book for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Edge has an expected publication date of December 2, 2025.
Harri is still dealing with the repercussions of her previous case, which has left her career under suspicion. (There is nothing quite like feeling as though one's every move is being examined under a microscope!)
Chicago's finest are scouring the city for a new and tainted opioid making the rounds, but they're coming up empty. With five people already dead: A college kid, a new mother, and three poker players. All they know is that the drug is called Edge. I hope Ms. Clark keeps this series going for a long time, and that Cassi Raine and her friends keep showing up!
#StrongFemaleProtagonist #BlackDetective #Friendship #Suspense #TracyClark
Thank you, #ThomasAndMercer, for providing this book for review and consideration via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Edge has an expected publication date of December 2, 2025.
December 14, 2025
My ability to get lost in books in the Year of Our Nightmare 2025 has even befallen authors I consider favorites. Once I forced myself to pick up the book and read I got through it in two sittings, it was just those sittings were weeks apart. Anyway, with a lot of previous baggage coming to a close with the previous book, I was hoping this would serve more as a fresh start, but not really. The plot was good - a new street drug called Edge that has led to an uptick in overdoses, including the niece of one of the cops Harri works with - which honestly, how that angle of the story was handled, while I'm sure realistic, frustrated the heck out of me.
I loved that the character of Cass Raines turns up (still bitter that series seems to have been put on ice) and I wonder if Clark has plans to meld the two series into one down the road.
Solid, OK, not my favorite in the series.
I loved that the character of Cass Raines turns up (still bitter that series seems to have been put on ice) and I wonder if Clark has plans to meld the two series into one down the road.
Solid, OK, not my favorite in the series.
January 5, 2026
Tracy Clark is one of my go-to crime-thriller authors, and Edge (book four in the Detective Harriet Foster series) is the best of the bunch.
A tainted opioid is killing people across Chicago, and the only thing police know is its name: Edge. As the body count rises, Detective Harriet Foster races to find the source—until the case hits painfully close to home.
Still under a cloud from her last investigation, Harri is pushed to the brink. Clark delivers a gritty, fast-paced police procedural with real emotional weight. Edge is sharp, tense, and proof this series keeps leveling up.
A tainted opioid is killing people across Chicago, and the only thing police know is its name: Edge. As the body count rises, Detective Harriet Foster races to find the source—until the case hits painfully close to home.
Still under a cloud from her last investigation, Harri is pushed to the brink. Clark delivers a gritty, fast-paced police procedural with real emotional weight. Edge is sharp, tense, and proof this series keeps leveling up.
August 10, 2025
So I loved the first half of this book. It opens on detective Harriet Foster coming across a young woman who has OD'd and is barely alive. Foster struggles to keep her alive long enough for EMTs to arrive, talking to this unconscious girl and begging her not to die. I was truly impressed with Clark's ability to invest the reader in this young woman's fate when we're given no backstory and the woman is given no dialogue whatsoever. Later, a second character also OD's, and again, though she has no dialogue or voice in the novel, it's still manages to be heart-wrenching and poignant.
However, about halfway through the book, the writing started to fall flat for me. Suddenly there were italicies everywhere, as of Clark doesn't trust us to emphasize the sentences correctly on our own without her guidance. The writing felt rushed and campy. In places that felt like she was trying to get to a specific word count. Some of my least favorite lines:
Three police officers about to be involved in a shoot out: "They all realized their sticky situation had just gotten a lot stickier." Who is narrating that? The guy from Dukes of Hazard?
And again: "They needed an easy takedown with no one harmed. Would they get it?" Who are you talking to? Who is that sentence for?
So from feeling extremely invested in the characters to finding them to be more caricatures than real, by the end I just didn't care about these people anymore.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
However, about halfway through the book, the writing started to fall flat for me. Suddenly there were italicies everywhere, as of Clark doesn't trust us to emphasize the sentences correctly on our own without her guidance. The writing felt rushed and campy. In places that felt like she was trying to get to a specific word count. Some of my least favorite lines:
Three police officers about to be involved in a shoot out: "They all realized their sticky situation had just gotten a lot stickier." Who is narrating that? The guy from Dukes of Hazard?
And again: "They needed an easy takedown with no one harmed. Would they get it?" Who are you talking to? Who is that sentence for?
So from feeling extremely invested in the characters to finding them to be more caricatures than real, by the end I just didn't care about these people anymore.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
January 21, 2026
Another good read featuring Harri Foster of the Chicago PD. I really enjoy this series...
January 5, 2026
Surprisingly good, given the theme! Normally I stay way clear of books that have organized crime as a theme, particularly the drug related kind. However, I have enjoyed the series so far and did not let it deter me.
The book starts where the last one left off, but that is thankfully quickly dealt with. Instead Harriet gets to concentrate on a number of drug overdoses that seem to be something new on the market. To make it worse, the niece of one of the cops is involved.
What makes this book work is how well written and fleshed out the characters are. The OD’s really get to you. The mobster family is shown in all it’s nuances. It’s good!
To get the most out of this book you really need to read the first three. No worries though, it’s worth it!
The book starts where the last one left off, but that is thankfully quickly dealt with. Instead Harriet gets to concentrate on a number of drug overdoses that seem to be something new on the market. To make it worse, the niece of one of the cops is involved.
What makes this book work is how well written and fleshed out the characters are. The OD’s really get to you. The mobster family is shown in all it’s nuances. It’s good!
To get the most out of this book you really need to read the first three. No worries though, it’s worth it!
December 19, 2025
“They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago Way!”
While the quote is from the 1987 movie, The Untouchables, based on a 1957 book of the same title ABOUT the FBI’s pursuit of the notorious gangster Al Capone in 1930, it also reads as if its ripped from the headlines – the fictional headlines about the case that has Detective Harriet Foster of the Chicago Police Department tied up in knots – and not just because one of the victims belongs to one of the CPD’s own.
This doesn’t start out as a homicide case at all. Harriet was taking a walk early in the morning on what should have been her day off. She never expected to find two bodies on the grass behind the closed gates of a park. From a distance, it looks like two dead teenagers. Close up, it looks like a couple of kids dead of either an overdose.
At least until Harriet’s cursory check for signs of life finds actual signs of life in one of them – and the race to save Ella Bryce is on. For the first but not the last time in this story. Because Bryce’s uncle is one of Harriet’s fellow detectives, and the man is not going to let this go even when he should back away.
As one of his colleagues quips later, “there’s a good reason surgeons don’t operate on their own family,” and that cops shouldn’t either.
If this were the simple case it originally appeared – two middle class college students experimenting with drugs that a friend of a friend said were ‘safe’ – and discovering the hard way that they’re not – this would not have been a homicide case and probably wouldn’t have been investigated much if at all. Whether or not it should have been is a different question well above Harriet’s paygrade.
But it’s not simple because those first two victims are not the only ones. There’s clearly a bad batch of something out on the streets, because people keep turning up dead from it – and drug suppliers don’t set out to kill their customers. After all, it’s bad for business.
The question is, whose business? The second question, the one that dogs the investigators’ minds and footsteps, is the question that no one wants to be asked but has to be asked anyway. Because Detective Matt Kelley’s niece, the girl whose life Harriet saved in that park, is clearly lying about pretty much everything pretty much all of the time.
And the results of that are not going to be pretty at all.
Escape Rating A+: I held off on putting together my Best Books list for this year because I expected Edge to be a contender for that list. I was NOT disappointed. This whole series, beginning with Hide, has been awesome and Detective Harriet Foster has been a fascinating character to follow. Not just because of her dogged investigative skills, but because we’ve been watching her tiptoe oh-so-slowly out of the shadows of her own life towards healing as the series has continued. With each entry in the series, she pushes both the case and herself forward and it’s utterly absorbing with every single one of her steps – including the ones that go backward.
The series is also fun – at least for this reader – because it is so very much Chicago in all of its messy glory AND its terrible weather. Hide took place in the early fall, Fall in the late fall, Echo in the bone-chilling cold of a typical (and typically awful) Chicago winter, while Edge takes place on the leading edge of what will eventually be spring. March in Chicago is still freezing, still snowy, still icy. Basically, March in Chicago is still mostly winter but with longer days in which to notice how dirty the snow piles that have been sitting around since January look.
The case that Harriet and the team uncover is one of those cases that peels back like an onion – including the tears. At first it makes no sense – and it’s not theirs. There’s not a pattern – more like a bunch of mismatched speckles. Two kids in that park. A young mother with postpartum depression. Three middle-aged meat-packers having a poker night. That’s the side the cops see.
It’s only when the body of a local mob boss is discovered in a back alley, shot to death in her own limo in what is obviously both a hit AND an inside job, that the cops realize this case is both bigger and stranger than it appeared – and that Detective Kelley’s niece is somehow still in the thick of it.
The Gamon crime family has always been untouchable (in a considerably less savory way than Eliot Ness and his famous FBI team) – but once they’ve put the touch on themselves their empire starts unraveling – and fast. And in that chaos and power vacuum, Harriet and her team find a way to save a girl who might not deserve it but they’re going to try to save anyway. If they can.
That the whole thing ties itself back to old rumrunners’ tunnels under Bronzeville that date back to Capone ties in that quote from the movie both nicely and messily at the same time. And made for one hell of an almost shootout to end this one with a really big – if slightly muffled – bang.
But still and all, what makes this book and this series work for this reader is the character of Harriet Foster herself, not just as a cop but as a woman trying to put herself back together after more tragedy than any one person should have to live with. But she does and its utterly absorbing to watch her work.
Harriet, her crew and her cases remind this reader of Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley in her series that began with The Jigsaw Man. Harriet herself also has a lot in common with PI Cass Raines, the leading character of the author’s earlier Chicago-set mystery series that begins with Broken Places. Raines herself makes an extended cameo appearance in Edge, managing to set Harriet’s police partner Vera on her own edge AND making the reader want to dive into her series to learn more about Raines because she’s every bit as dynamic and fascinating a character as Harriet is – but in her own, unique, way.
Harriet will probably, hopefully, be back next December with whatever one word title fits the case she gets caught up in next. I’m looking forward to getting caught up in it with her.
Originally published at Reading Reality
While the quote is from the 1987 movie, The Untouchables, based on a 1957 book of the same title ABOUT the FBI’s pursuit of the notorious gangster Al Capone in 1930, it also reads as if its ripped from the headlines – the fictional headlines about the case that has Detective Harriet Foster of the Chicago Police Department tied up in knots – and not just because one of the victims belongs to one of the CPD’s own.
This doesn’t start out as a homicide case at all. Harriet was taking a walk early in the morning on what should have been her day off. She never expected to find two bodies on the grass behind the closed gates of a park. From a distance, it looks like two dead teenagers. Close up, it looks like a couple of kids dead of either an overdose.
At least until Harriet’s cursory check for signs of life finds actual signs of life in one of them – and the race to save Ella Bryce is on. For the first but not the last time in this story. Because Bryce’s uncle is one of Harriet’s fellow detectives, and the man is not going to let this go even when he should back away.
As one of his colleagues quips later, “there’s a good reason surgeons don’t operate on their own family,” and that cops shouldn’t either.
If this were the simple case it originally appeared – two middle class college students experimenting with drugs that a friend of a friend said were ‘safe’ – and discovering the hard way that they’re not – this would not have been a homicide case and probably wouldn’t have been investigated much if at all. Whether or not it should have been is a different question well above Harriet’s paygrade.
But it’s not simple because those first two victims are not the only ones. There’s clearly a bad batch of something out on the streets, because people keep turning up dead from it – and drug suppliers don’t set out to kill their customers. After all, it’s bad for business.
The question is, whose business? The second question, the one that dogs the investigators’ minds and footsteps, is the question that no one wants to be asked but has to be asked anyway. Because Detective Matt Kelley’s niece, the girl whose life Harriet saved in that park, is clearly lying about pretty much everything pretty much all of the time.
And the results of that are not going to be pretty at all.
Escape Rating A+: I held off on putting together my Best Books list for this year because I expected Edge to be a contender for that list. I was NOT disappointed. This whole series, beginning with Hide, has been awesome and Detective Harriet Foster has been a fascinating character to follow. Not just because of her dogged investigative skills, but because we’ve been watching her tiptoe oh-so-slowly out of the shadows of her own life towards healing as the series has continued. With each entry in the series, she pushes both the case and herself forward and it’s utterly absorbing with every single one of her steps – including the ones that go backward.
The series is also fun – at least for this reader – because it is so very much Chicago in all of its messy glory AND its terrible weather. Hide took place in the early fall, Fall in the late fall, Echo in the bone-chilling cold of a typical (and typically awful) Chicago winter, while Edge takes place on the leading edge of what will eventually be spring. March in Chicago is still freezing, still snowy, still icy. Basically, March in Chicago is still mostly winter but with longer days in which to notice how dirty the snow piles that have been sitting around since January look.
The case that Harriet and the team uncover is one of those cases that peels back like an onion – including the tears. At first it makes no sense – and it’s not theirs. There’s not a pattern – more like a bunch of mismatched speckles. Two kids in that park. A young mother with postpartum depression. Three middle-aged meat-packers having a poker night. That’s the side the cops see.
It’s only when the body of a local mob boss is discovered in a back alley, shot to death in her own limo in what is obviously both a hit AND an inside job, that the cops realize this case is both bigger and stranger than it appeared – and that Detective Kelley’s niece is somehow still in the thick of it.
The Gamon crime family has always been untouchable (in a considerably less savory way than Eliot Ness and his famous FBI team) – but once they’ve put the touch on themselves their empire starts unraveling – and fast. And in that chaos and power vacuum, Harriet and her team find a way to save a girl who might not deserve it but they’re going to try to save anyway. If they can.
That the whole thing ties itself back to old rumrunners’ tunnels under Bronzeville that date back to Capone ties in that quote from the movie both nicely and messily at the same time. And made for one hell of an almost shootout to end this one with a really big – if slightly muffled – bang.
But still and all, what makes this book and this series work for this reader is the character of Harriet Foster herself, not just as a cop but as a woman trying to put herself back together after more tragedy than any one person should have to live with. But she does and its utterly absorbing to watch her work.
Harriet, her crew and her cases remind this reader of Detective Inspector Anjelica Henley in her series that began with The Jigsaw Man. Harriet herself also has a lot in common with PI Cass Raines, the leading character of the author’s earlier Chicago-set mystery series that begins with Broken Places. Raines herself makes an extended cameo appearance in Edge, managing to set Harriet’s police partner Vera on her own edge AND making the reader want to dive into her series to learn more about Raines because she’s every bit as dynamic and fascinating a character as Harriet is – but in her own, unique, way.
Harriet will probably, hopefully, be back next December with whatever one word title fits the case she gets caught up in next. I’m looking forward to getting caught up in it with her.
Originally published at Reading Reality
December 9, 2025
EDGE ( A DETECTIVE HARRIET FOSTER THRILLER #4) by Tracy Clark
Publication: 12/02/2025 by Thomas & Mercer
Page Count: 310
Graded : 4+ of 5 Stars
Multi-award winning novelist, Tracy Clark delivers a gritty, street savvy police procedural following the career of her street-smart and empathic Black female detective, Harriet “Harri” Foster entangled in the web of crime on the streets of Chicago, Although this is the fourth foray into the enduring tales of Harri, it is easily enjoyed as a standalone as Clark seamlessly supplies the necessary backstory. On her day off, Harri is strolling down by the Lakeshore early in the morning , only to come upon a disturbing tableau. She notices two inert figures strewn on the lakefront sand. She climbs the fence to find a cold, inert young adult male, pulseless and blue, along with an equally young woman with a faint pulse. Her quick actions result in the hospitalization and eventual recovery of the woman. She is quickly embroiled in the investigation of the apparent overdoses. The found blue bag with the cryptic “E” quickly leads to presence of a new “tainted” opioid on the streets. Three other victims soon were added to the list of fatalities …. A young mother, struggling with postpartum blues and three men from a late night poker game. Ella Burns is the survivor and remains evasive during intense questioning. Her live-style and attire at college is way above what is reasonable. Harri noted $400 in her wallet when she found her comatose on the beach. To complicate matters, Ella is the niece of a respected and well-liked Detective Matt Kelley. Harri and her partner, Vera will tenaciously connect the dots to the Gamon Crime family.
What sets this novel apart from others is Clark’s superlative mastery of dialogue that propels the narrative, as suspense and intrigue escalate. Multiple layered characters are effortlessly developed involving both crime perpetrators and law officers. These colorful characters are both believable and reprehensible. Plotting smoothly flows as Harri and Vera search for the origin of the Edge to eliminate the street threat. The plot becomes twisted and convoluted the closer Harri comes to unraveling the nature of the crime families far reaching involvement in the community.
Clark, a native Chicagoan expertly utilizes the Windy City setting as an important construct in the developing narrative…. the pulse and sounds of the city amplify the burgeoning tension and action. Her background in the newspaper business, fosters the feel of “ripped from the headlines” importance. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer publishing for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. Now that I’ve discovered Clark’s oeuvre , I certainly will download the first three entries in this excellent series.
Publication: 12/02/2025 by Thomas & Mercer
Page Count: 310
Graded : 4+ of 5 Stars
Multi-award winning novelist, Tracy Clark delivers a gritty, street savvy police procedural following the career of her street-smart and empathic Black female detective, Harriet “Harri” Foster entangled in the web of crime on the streets of Chicago, Although this is the fourth foray into the enduring tales of Harri, it is easily enjoyed as a standalone as Clark seamlessly supplies the necessary backstory. On her day off, Harri is strolling down by the Lakeshore early in the morning , only to come upon a disturbing tableau. She notices two inert figures strewn on the lakefront sand. She climbs the fence to find a cold, inert young adult male, pulseless and blue, along with an equally young woman with a faint pulse. Her quick actions result in the hospitalization and eventual recovery of the woman. She is quickly embroiled in the investigation of the apparent overdoses. The found blue bag with the cryptic “E” quickly leads to presence of a new “tainted” opioid on the streets. Three other victims soon were added to the list of fatalities …. A young mother, struggling with postpartum blues and three men from a late night poker game. Ella Burns is the survivor and remains evasive during intense questioning. Her live-style and attire at college is way above what is reasonable. Harri noted $400 in her wallet when she found her comatose on the beach. To complicate matters, Ella is the niece of a respected and well-liked Detective Matt Kelley. Harri and her partner, Vera will tenaciously connect the dots to the Gamon Crime family.
What sets this novel apart from others is Clark’s superlative mastery of dialogue that propels the narrative, as suspense and intrigue escalate. Multiple layered characters are effortlessly developed involving both crime perpetrators and law officers. These colorful characters are both believable and reprehensible. Plotting smoothly flows as Harri and Vera search for the origin of the Edge to eliminate the street threat. The plot becomes twisted and convoluted the closer Harri comes to unraveling the nature of the crime families far reaching involvement in the community.
Clark, a native Chicagoan expertly utilizes the Windy City setting as an important construct in the developing narrative…. the pulse and sounds of the city amplify the burgeoning tension and action. Her background in the newspaper business, fosters the feel of “ripped from the headlines” importance. Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer publishing for providing an Uncorrected Proof in exchange for an honest review. Now that I’ve discovered Clark’s oeuvre , I certainly will download the first three entries in this excellent series.
December 24, 2025
Great story! And a surprise appearance of Cass Raines into this series was fantastic!! Looking forward to the next one!
August 6, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of Edge by Tracy Clark
This is the first book I’ve read by Tracy Clark, but it definitely won’t be the last — I’ve already downloaded the first in the Detective Harriet Foster series as I enjoyed Edge so much. The plot gripped me from the start and kept the tension tight throughout.
Even without reading the previous books, I had no trouble diving into the storyline. The characters are rich with detail and complexity, and I loved the interplay between Faith’s fresh start and Vanessa’s troubled past. There are so many strong female leads in this novel, a real highlight for me. Harri is a relatable and layered detective, still carrying the weight of personal loss, and Cassi Raine is absolutely fantastic. I’ll definitely be checking out her series next.
A tightly plotted and emotionally intelligent thriller that delivers both suspense and heart. Bring it on!
This is the first book I’ve read by Tracy Clark, but it definitely won’t be the last — I’ve already downloaded the first in the Detective Harriet Foster series as I enjoyed Edge so much. The plot gripped me from the start and kept the tension tight throughout.
Even without reading the previous books, I had no trouble diving into the storyline. The characters are rich with detail and complexity, and I loved the interplay between Faith’s fresh start and Vanessa’s troubled past. There are so many strong female leads in this novel, a real highlight for me. Harri is a relatable and layered detective, still carrying the weight of personal loss, and Cassi Raine is absolutely fantastic. I’ll definitely be checking out her series next.
A tightly plotted and emotionally intelligent thriller that delivers both suspense and heart. Bring it on!
November 15, 2025
Tracy Clark's Edge is a well-paced thriller that hooked me from page one when Chicago Detective Harriet Foster (Harri), out on a run, finds two young teens overdosed with a tainted opioid.
Harri is a great protagonist. She’s stoic, determined, and professional, but there are cracks in her outward resilience. She’s still struggling with her grief after the loss of her son and her partner, and these overdoses add to her pain, but also make her determined to stop the mounting death toll.
Clark does an excellent job showing us the deep bond between Harri and her partner, a young female cop called Vera Li, who is a great contrast to Harri. And as a treat we meet some characters from Clark’s Cass Raines series.
As I’ve come to expect from this author, the prose is crisp and confident, delivering vivid images of the characters and Chicago as a setting. Never falling into stereotypes, always creating more dimensions to the cast.
Edge is a gripping, satisfying read that earns every one of five stars—recommended for fans of thrillers and anyone who appreciates a suspense novel with heart and intelligence.
With thanks to Thomas & Mercer for a copy to read via Netgalley.
Harri is a great protagonist. She’s stoic, determined, and professional, but there are cracks in her outward resilience. She’s still struggling with her grief after the loss of her son and her partner, and these overdoses add to her pain, but also make her determined to stop the mounting death toll.
Clark does an excellent job showing us the deep bond between Harri and her partner, a young female cop called Vera Li, who is a great contrast to Harri. And as a treat we meet some characters from Clark’s Cass Raines series.
As I’ve come to expect from this author, the prose is crisp and confident, delivering vivid images of the characters and Chicago as a setting. Never falling into stereotypes, always creating more dimensions to the cast.
Edge is a gripping, satisfying read that earns every one of five stars—recommended for fans of thrillers and anyone who appreciates a suspense novel with heart and intelligence.
With thanks to Thomas & Mercer for a copy to read via Netgalley.
December 1, 2025
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summary: Chicago’s top detectives are combing the city for a dangerous new opioid called Edge, but leads are scarce. Five people are already dead, and the drug’s origin remains a mystery. Detective Harriet Foster is determined to get answers, but the drug isn’t the only danger she faces.
Tropes and Themes: family, grief, loss, family secrets, justice, retribution, trauma, criminal/legal procedures.
Thoughts: Thank to you NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer, and Brilliance Audio for allowing me to review this ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed the audiobook! Chante McCormick does a great job showing urgency and strength in her narration, making the story feel exciting and intense. Her tone fits the story perfectly, and it keeps you interested from start to finish. I would love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her because she really brings the story to life.
I absolutely loved this book and the entire series! It really highlights how college students and younger generations often take risks, some of which are unsafe, and how past generations can influence these choices by not providing or modeling better opportunities. The story shows how drugs have become a common but a dangerous form of unhealthy self-care, serving as a warning to be mindful of the consequences of chasing a “good time” through substance use.
I also really appreciated how Harriet manages her trauma and grief in this book. Grief and healing take time, but it was inspiring to see her begin to find relief and move forward in her life.
On top of that, I love Tracy Clark as an author. She does an amazing job creating a whole police division filled with strong women from diverse backgrounds, with some male perspectives woven in. I especially loved that the captain was a woman, which felt so empowering and refreshing!
Summary: Chicago’s top detectives are combing the city for a dangerous new opioid called Edge, but leads are scarce. Five people are already dead, and the drug’s origin remains a mystery. Detective Harriet Foster is determined to get answers, but the drug isn’t the only danger she faces.
Tropes and Themes: family, grief, loss, family secrets, justice, retribution, trauma, criminal/legal procedures.
Thoughts: Thank to you NetGalley, Thomas and Mercer, and Brilliance Audio for allowing me to review this ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.
I really enjoyed the audiobook! Chante McCormick does a great job showing urgency and strength in her narration, making the story feel exciting and intense. Her tone fits the story perfectly, and it keeps you interested from start to finish. I would love to listen to more audiobooks narrated by her because she really brings the story to life.
I absolutely loved this book and the entire series! It really highlights how college students and younger generations often take risks, some of which are unsafe, and how past generations can influence these choices by not providing or modeling better opportunities. The story shows how drugs have become a common but a dangerous form of unhealthy self-care, serving as a warning to be mindful of the consequences of chasing a “good time” through substance use.
I also really appreciated how Harriet manages her trauma and grief in this book. Grief and healing take time, but it was inspiring to see her begin to find relief and move forward in her life.
On top of that, I love Tracy Clark as an author. She does an amazing job creating a whole police division filled with strong women from diverse backgrounds, with some male perspectives woven in. I especially loved that the captain was a woman, which felt so empowering and refreshing!
January 12, 2026
Book four in the series started a little slow for me. The shocker had me saying I can't believe it, nor did I see it coming. My heart went out to Matt and Harri for the hurt and pain they were both dealing with on opposite sides of the coin. Elle, a typical spoiled child who had it all and wanted more.
December 4, 2025
Thanks to the publisher, via Netgalley, for an advance e-galley for honest review.
Four books in, this procedural has a personal feeling. Dealing with very real issues and making the case hit home for one of their own makes this one engaging.
Four books in, this procedural has a personal feeling. Dealing with very real issues and making the case hit home for one of their own makes this one engaging.
January 7, 2026
This is an excellent series. Read them in order as the character development happens over time. I love Clark’s detective Harriet Foster and her setting in the city of Chicago. You won’t be disappointed.
January 22, 2026
So much pain. Some healing too.
How do I say I enjoyed this book? A book with so much fear, anger, confusion and ugliness? Tracy Clark writes a damn fine book. That's why. Read it. Read them all.
How do I say I enjoyed this book? A book with so much fear, anger, confusion and ugliness? Tracy Clark writes a damn fine book. That's why. Read it. Read them all.
January 18, 2026
I’m a huge fan of Tracy Clark and have read everything she’s written. So I was thrilled to meet up with old friend Detective Harri Foster and her team!
Edge is a story that sucks you in and won’t let you go. The characters feel real. Their motives are relatable. The story keeps moving.
Unputdownable!
Edge is a story that sucks you in and won’t let you go. The characters feel real. Their motives are relatable. The story keeps moving.
Unputdownable!
December 7, 2025
EDGE: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller is the latest read in an excellent police procedural series that began in January 2023 with HIDE. This series by Tracy Clark is one that builds off of the previous books as characters evolve over time. This is not a static series as characters are affected by cases as well as personal life events. As a result, it is strongly recommended to have read the previous books in order before embarking on this complex and very enjoyable read.
It is spring in Chicago and the season of renewal and yet the rain and the cold make it clear otherwise for Detective Harriet Foster. Known to all as “Harri, she is on a path at the lakefront thinking about the past, her dead, and scores that have not been settled. The justice she has sought these many months over past events has not happened nor has her ability to deal with those traumas really improved. Her mind is full of turmoil as she walks, putting one foot forward, as she does every day at work, the best she can.
That is until she sees the prone figures in some sort of concrete bowl in the local skate park. The weather has been horrible so partying is not happening. They aren’t moving either and don’t seem to hear her or to be able to respond from where they are behind the locked chain link fence. A fence that somebody from the city should have unlocked hours earlier.
Detective Harriet Foster has no choice. She has to get over the fence and check on the people lying motionless. It takes some time to get over that fence and get to them. It is pretty clear that they had been drinking. It is also clear that they each took something and things went very bad. The young man is dead. The young woman snuggled against him is alive, barely, and Detective Foster summons help. She does everything she can to keep her amongst the living during an agonizing long wait for assistance.
The young woman who almost died from the drugs as well as hypothermia thanks to the rain, wind, and the cold, is Ella Louise Byrne. A sophomore at the University of Chicago, she also has a business card for Detective Matt Kelley. The same Detective Matt Kelley who is on her team.
The same Detective Matt Kelly who is enraged at what happened to his niece. He is willing to burn down his career and the city itself to find those responsible. That means it is up to Detective Harriet Foster and the rest of the team to not only find and arrest those responsible, but to make sure a good cop doesn’t go totally rogue and do something stupid that will ruin his career and maybe his life.
Seeking justice has long been a theme throughout this series. It is front and center here in EDGE: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller by Tracy Clark. If you have not read these excellent police procedurals, you are really missing out.
Strongly recommended.
My reading copy from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, though NetGalley, months ago with no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
It is spring in Chicago and the season of renewal and yet the rain and the cold make it clear otherwise for Detective Harriet Foster. Known to all as “Harri, she is on a path at the lakefront thinking about the past, her dead, and scores that have not been settled. The justice she has sought these many months over past events has not happened nor has her ability to deal with those traumas really improved. Her mind is full of turmoil as she walks, putting one foot forward, as she does every day at work, the best she can.
That is until she sees the prone figures in some sort of concrete bowl in the local skate park. The weather has been horrible so partying is not happening. They aren’t moving either and don’t seem to hear her or to be able to respond from where they are behind the locked chain link fence. A fence that somebody from the city should have unlocked hours earlier.
Detective Harriet Foster has no choice. She has to get over the fence and check on the people lying motionless. It takes some time to get over that fence and get to them. It is pretty clear that they had been drinking. It is also clear that they each took something and things went very bad. The young man is dead. The young woman snuggled against him is alive, barely, and Detective Foster summons help. She does everything she can to keep her amongst the living during an agonizing long wait for assistance.
The young woman who almost died from the drugs as well as hypothermia thanks to the rain, wind, and the cold, is Ella Louise Byrne. A sophomore at the University of Chicago, she also has a business card for Detective Matt Kelley. The same Detective Matt Kelley who is on her team.
The same Detective Matt Kelly who is enraged at what happened to his niece. He is willing to burn down his career and the city itself to find those responsible. That means it is up to Detective Harriet Foster and the rest of the team to not only find and arrest those responsible, but to make sure a good cop doesn’t go totally rogue and do something stupid that will ruin his career and maybe his life.
Seeking justice has long been a theme throughout this series. It is front and center here in EDGE: A Detective Harriet Foster Thriller by Tracy Clark. If you have not read these excellent police procedurals, you are really missing out.
Strongly recommended.
My reading copy from the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, though NetGalley, months ago with no expectation of a positive review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2025
December 4, 2025
📚Edge
✍🏻Tracy Clark
Blurb:
When a tainted drug starts claiming lives across the city, Detective Harriet Foster and her team race to track down the source…before it takes one of their own.
Chicago’s finest are scouring the city for a tainted new opioid making the rounds, but they’re coming up empty. With five people already dead—a college kid, a new mother, and three poker players—all they really know is the drug’s Edge. Where it’s coming from is still anyone’s guess.
Detective Harriet Foster doesn’t have time for guessing games. She needs answers. And when the next overdose hits Homicide where it hurts most, Harri is determined to get what she wants. But keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder than expected.
Still reeling from her last case (and the stain of suspicion it left on her career), Harri finds herself at a tipping point. The drug isn’t the only edge she needs to worry about. If she can’t come back from her own, there’s no telling whether this investigation will lead to a satisfying conclusion…or her own demise.
My Thoughts:
This is the first book I’ve read by Tracy Clark, but it definitely won’t be the last .We catch up with Chicago Police Department Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster as a new illicit drug, Edge, hits the streets and claims lives. She and her team, including Detectives Vera Li, Al Symansky, Tony Bigelow, and Matt Kelly, are working hard to find who is responsible for this lethal opioid.
Tracy Clark is an expert at ratcheting up the suspense to almost unbearable heights in the process of dealing with the members of a local crime family. And the character of Harri has been fleshed out through four series books to the point where readers are familiar with her as a person and detective and know what to expect of her in dangerous situations. What is also interesting is that Private Investigator Cass Raines, the protagonist of Clark's earlier Chicago Mystery series, makes a memorable appearance in this book, having been hired by the girl's troubled parents. It's fun to see how Cass and her team vie with the detectives to be the first to discover new information that will help with the investigation, and this rivalry adds a much-needed touch of humanity to what is otherwise a deadly story. I hope we will see Cass in future series entries.
Thanks NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Author Tracy Clark for the advanced copy "Edge" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#Thomas&Mercer
#Edge
#TracyClark
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍🏻Tracy Clark
Blurb:
When a tainted drug starts claiming lives across the city, Detective Harriet Foster and her team race to track down the source…before it takes one of their own.
Chicago’s finest are scouring the city for a tainted new opioid making the rounds, but they’re coming up empty. With five people already dead—a college kid, a new mother, and three poker players—all they really know is the drug’s Edge. Where it’s coming from is still anyone’s guess.
Detective Harriet Foster doesn’t have time for guessing games. She needs answers. And when the next overdose hits Homicide where it hurts most, Harri is determined to get what she wants. But keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder than expected.
Still reeling from her last case (and the stain of suspicion it left on her career), Harri finds herself at a tipping point. The drug isn’t the only edge she needs to worry about. If she can’t come back from her own, there’s no telling whether this investigation will lead to a satisfying conclusion…or her own demise.
My Thoughts:
This is the first book I’ve read by Tracy Clark, but it definitely won’t be the last .We catch up with Chicago Police Department Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster as a new illicit drug, Edge, hits the streets and claims lives. She and her team, including Detectives Vera Li, Al Symansky, Tony Bigelow, and Matt Kelly, are working hard to find who is responsible for this lethal opioid.
Tracy Clark is an expert at ratcheting up the suspense to almost unbearable heights in the process of dealing with the members of a local crime family. And the character of Harri has been fleshed out through four series books to the point where readers are familiar with her as a person and detective and know what to expect of her in dangerous situations. What is also interesting is that Private Investigator Cass Raines, the protagonist of Clark's earlier Chicago Mystery series, makes a memorable appearance in this book, having been hired by the girl's troubled parents. It's fun to see how Cass and her team vie with the detectives to be the first to discover new information that will help with the investigation, and this rivalry adds a much-needed touch of humanity to what is otherwise a deadly story. I hope we will see Cass in future series entries.
Thanks NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer and Author Tracy Clark for the advanced copy "Edge" I am leaving my voluntary review in appreciation.
#NetGalley
#Thomas&Mercer
#Edge
#TracyClark
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 6, 2025
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Detective Harriet Foster series is set in Chicago. Harri who has been on the force 18 years is adjusting to her new partner and team. She still struggles with the recent death of her partner, and her son six years ago.
As with the previous book, the cases revolve around drugs and young people overdosing. Right away, Harri is out on her day off and comes upon a college age guy and gal who look like they have overdosed in a park. The boy is dead and the girl is faintly alive. She calls for help and it turns out the girl has a connection to her team.
We get lots of points of view here in addition to Harri, from some of the criminals. They are stone cold killers and don't care if their drugs kill people, only that they make money. The bodies keep dropping. The team works the evidence smartly and eventually starts to make progress.
Personally, Harri is still reeling from the last case. Her boss sends her to a new therapist, one who used to be a cop, and she finally starts to make some progress.
The ending is also satisfying because the greedy killers are scooped up or dead. Sadly, there will always be a new player to sell drugs or girls. I really enjoyed this case and the character development.
Narration:
This series was my introduction to this narrator. I really enjoyed her performance and felt the distinct voices were comfortable and appropriate for the characters. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to the clip: HERE
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Detective Harriet Foster series is set in Chicago. Harri who has been on the force 18 years is adjusting to her new partner and team. She still struggles with the recent death of her partner, and her son six years ago.
As with the previous book, the cases revolve around drugs and young people overdosing. Right away, Harri is out on her day off and comes upon a college age guy and gal who look like they have overdosed in a park. The boy is dead and the girl is faintly alive. She calls for help and it turns out the girl has a connection to her team.
We get lots of points of view here in addition to Harri, from some of the criminals. They are stone cold killers and don't care if their drugs kill people, only that they make money. The bodies keep dropping. The team works the evidence smartly and eventually starts to make progress.
Personally, Harri is still reeling from the last case. Her boss sends her to a new therapist, one who used to be a cop, and she finally starts to make some progress.
The ending is also satisfying because the greedy killers are scooped up or dead. Sadly, there will always be a new player to sell drugs or girls. I really enjoyed this case and the character development.
Narration:
This series was my introduction to this narrator. I really enjoyed her performance and felt the distinct voices were comfortable and appropriate for the characters. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to the clip: HERE
December 6, 2025
As one who doesn’t read crime novels on a daily basis, I really enjoyed this one. It was fun, fairly fast-paced, and really gave good info surrounding the whole crime scenario, rather than a singular view.
The overall story really read like a crime novel. To an extent, it gave me flashbacks to Criminal Minds and CSI. Obviously not exactly those, but really in a similar vein.
Between the underlying crime and the variety of characters, it kept me wanting to keep going. And yes, there were a few different POVs. But really, even with the sudden switches, it added a lot to the story and was relatively easy to follow.
I will admit that I didn’t start at the beginning of the series - this is the fourth book. So there were a couple of hints towards previous books that I didn’t fully understand. Even so, it didn’t take away from this storyline at all and has even encouraged/caught my interest to pick up the first three to catch up! The author really did a great job at making this a stand-alone, in my opinion.
And I thought the author did a fabulous job at not only helping you follow along with the police, but also helping you view the POV of the criminals. What was going on in their minds? It just added so much more, and gave a better understanding of how the crime began.
And honestly, for one who doesn’t really read crime novels as I’ve not really found any that “clicked” before now, this was a great one. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and want to check out the entire series. If you’re interested in diving into crime novels, or if you’re already a fan of them, then this one may be for you!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, received from Kaye Publicity and Tracy Clark. However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.
The overall story really read like a crime novel. To an extent, it gave me flashbacks to Criminal Minds and CSI. Obviously not exactly those, but really in a similar vein.
Between the underlying crime and the variety of characters, it kept me wanting to keep going. And yes, there were a few different POVs. But really, even with the sudden switches, it added a lot to the story and was relatively easy to follow.
I will admit that I didn’t start at the beginning of the series - this is the fourth book. So there were a couple of hints towards previous books that I didn’t fully understand. Even so, it didn’t take away from this storyline at all and has even encouraged/caught my interest to pick up the first three to catch up! The author really did a great job at making this a stand-alone, in my opinion.
And I thought the author did a fabulous job at not only helping you follow along with the police, but also helping you view the POV of the criminals. What was going on in their minds? It just added so much more, and gave a better understanding of how the crime began.
And honestly, for one who doesn’t really read crime novels as I’ve not really found any that “clicked” before now, this was a great one. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and want to check out the entire series. If you’re interested in diving into crime novels, or if you’re already a fan of them, then this one may be for you!
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, received from Kaye Publicity and Tracy Clark. However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.
November 28, 2025
I enjoy the Harriet Foster series but didn't love this one as much as the previous ones. Maybe the secondary storyline of her stalker helped the earlier books or maybe it was just the drug storyline. Still a great read, I just enjoyed the cases more in the others. This is book 4 of a series but very readable as a standalone. Although, you will appreciate the character development parts more if you have read the other books.
We start with Harri out for a run when she notices two people huddled where they shouldn't be in the rain. As she waits for an ambulance for the apparent overdose victims, she goes through the girl's purse looking for an ID and finds a business card for a detective in her squad. He takes the case personally as his niece recovers and more bodies drop.
This book also brings back Cass Raines from the author's other series, she is a PI hired by one of the victim's families and seems to be ahead of the investigation at every turn, much to the annoyance of Harri's partner Li.
We also see Harri forced into therapy by her leprechaun loving boss and that part felt a bit rushed with Harri having a breakthru after just one session. If you are unfamiliar with the series, she has faced a lot of loss with the death of her son and her partner being shot by a dirty cop - one who is now dead with Harri a suspect. She has been a loner since their deaths, distancing herself from family and friends so it seems a bit quick.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for the advance reader copy through Netgalley.
Content warnings: drug overdoses, postpartum depression, religion.
We start with Harri out for a run when she notices two people huddled where they shouldn't be in the rain. As she waits for an ambulance for the apparent overdose victims, she goes through the girl's purse looking for an ID and finds a business card for a detective in her squad. He takes the case personally as his niece recovers and more bodies drop.
This book also brings back Cass Raines from the author's other series, she is a PI hired by one of the victim's families and seems to be ahead of the investigation at every turn, much to the annoyance of Harri's partner Li.
We also see Harri forced into therapy by her leprechaun loving boss and that part felt a bit rushed with Harri having a breakthru after just one session. If you are unfamiliar with the series, she has faced a lot of loss with the death of her son and her partner being shot by a dirty cop - one who is now dead with Harri a suspect. She has been a loner since their deaths, distancing herself from family and friends so it seems a bit quick.
Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for the advance reader copy through Netgalley.
Content warnings: drug overdoses, postpartum depression, religion.
December 6, 2025
This review was originally posted on Books of My Heart
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Detective Harriet Foster series is set in Chicago. Harri who has been on the force 18 years is adjusting to her new partner and team. She still struggles with the recent death of her partner, and her son six years ago.
As with the previous book, the cases revolve around drugs and young people overdosing. Right away, Harri is out on her day off and comes upon a college age guy and gal who look like they have overdosed in a park. The boy is dead and the girl is faintly alive. She calls for help and it turns out the girl has a connection to her team.
We get lots of points of view here in addition to Harri, from some of the criminals. They are stone cold killers and don't care if their drugs kill people, only that they make money. The bodies keep dropping. The team works the evidence smartly and eventually starts to make progress.
Personally, Harri is still reeling from the last case. Her boss sends her to a new therapist, one who used to be a cop, and she finally starts to make some progress.
The ending is also satisfying because the greedy killers are scooped up or dead. Sadly, there will always be a new player to sell drugs or girls. I really enjoyed this case and the character development.
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Detective Harriet Foster series is set in Chicago. Harri who has been on the force 18 years is adjusting to her new partner and team. She still struggles with the recent death of her partner, and her son six years ago.
As with the previous book, the cases revolve around drugs and young people overdosing. Right away, Harri is out on her day off and comes upon a college age guy and gal who look like they have overdosed in a park. The boy is dead and the girl is faintly alive. She calls for help and it turns out the girl has a connection to her team.
We get lots of points of view here in addition to Harri, from some of the criminals. They are stone cold killers and don't care if their drugs kill people, only that they make money. The bodies keep dropping. The team works the evidence smartly and eventually starts to make progress.
Personally, Harri is still reeling from the last case. Her boss sends her to a new therapist, one who used to be a cop, and she finally starts to make some progress.
The ending is also satisfying because the greedy killers are scooped up or dead. Sadly, there will always be a new player to sell drugs or girls. I really enjoyed this case and the character development.
November 22, 2025
ARC & ALC Review
📚 Book Title: Edge (Detective Harriet Foster Thriller #4)
✍🏽Author: Tracy Clark
🎙️Narrator: Chanté McCormick
📕 Format: 🎧 & 📱
⭐️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🕑Quick Take:
We catch up with Chicago Police Department Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster as a new illicit drug, Edge, hits the streets and claims lives. She and her team, including Detectives Vera Li, Al Symansky, Tony Bigelow, and Matt Kelly, are working hard to find who is responsible for this lethal opioid.
✨ Tropes:
- Chicago Crime
- Police Procedural
- War on Drugs
- Gritty Police Thriller
🎭 Narration:
I have admired Chanté’s ability to give each character a unique voice that makes them easy to distinguish by tone, inflection, and rate of speech. Overall, Chanté provided an entertaining and engaging performance.
💕What I Loved:
I love this series and hope this isn’t the end for Detective Harriet Foster. The thriller moves at a nice, engaging pace. I love the snarky banter, levity/dark humor, and commentary shared between the detectives. I enjoyed the special appearance of my favorite private investigator, Cassandra Raines, Whip, Deeks (read the Cass Raines Mystery series)! I also liked the unexpected connection between the characters and the secondary storyline from Harri’s personal life, navigating grief and loss that runs through the novels. I appreciate how Tracy Clark writes perfectly imperfect, flawed yet healing heroines.
Thank you so much, NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Brilliance Audio, for the advanced reader and listener copies!
📚 Book Title: Edge (Detective Harriet Foster Thriller #4)
✍🏽Author: Tracy Clark
🎙️Narrator: Chanté McCormick
📕 Format: 🎧 & 📱
⭐️ Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🕑Quick Take:
We catch up with Chicago Police Department Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster as a new illicit drug, Edge, hits the streets and claims lives. She and her team, including Detectives Vera Li, Al Symansky, Tony Bigelow, and Matt Kelly, are working hard to find who is responsible for this lethal opioid.
✨ Tropes:
- Chicago Crime
- Police Procedural
- War on Drugs
- Gritty Police Thriller
🎭 Narration:
I have admired Chanté’s ability to give each character a unique voice that makes them easy to distinguish by tone, inflection, and rate of speech. Overall, Chanté provided an entertaining and engaging performance.
💕What I Loved:
I love this series and hope this isn’t the end for Detective Harriet Foster. The thriller moves at a nice, engaging pace. I love the snarky banter, levity/dark humor, and commentary shared between the detectives. I enjoyed the special appearance of my favorite private investigator, Cassandra Raines, Whip, Deeks (read the Cass Raines Mystery series)! I also liked the unexpected connection between the characters and the secondary storyline from Harri’s personal life, navigating grief and loss that runs through the novels. I appreciate how Tracy Clark writes perfectly imperfect, flawed yet healing heroines.
Thank you so much, NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and Brilliance Audio, for the advanced reader and listener copies!
November 24, 2025
In Tracy Clark's newest book, the "Edge" of the title is a corrupted opioid that has already caused the tragic deaths of five people in Chicago, and Detective Harriet "Harri" Foster and her partner Vera are determined to bring the responsible parties to justice. Still mourning the murders of her adult son and her former partner, Harri has left behind her personal life to focus only on her work with the CPD. The teenaged niece of one of her coworkers barely survived when her boyfriend became a victim to the opioid, making the solution of that crime even more important for Harri and Vera to solve.
Tracy Clark is an expert at ratcheting up the suspense to almost unbearable heights in the process of dealing with the members of a local crime family. And the character of Harri has been fleshed out through four series books to the point where readers are familiar with her as a person and detective and know what to expect of her in dangerous situations. What is also interesting is that Private Investigator Cass Raines, the protagonist of Clark's earlier Chicago Mystery series, makes a memorable appearance in this book, having been hired by the girl's troubled parents. It's fun to see how Cass and her team vie with the detectives to be the first to discover new information that will help with the investigation, and this rivalry adds a much-needed touch of humanity to what is otherwise a deadly story. I hope we will see Cass in future series entries.
My review is based on a complimentary pre-release copy of this book.
Tracy Clark is an expert at ratcheting up the suspense to almost unbearable heights in the process of dealing with the members of a local crime family. And the character of Harri has been fleshed out through four series books to the point where readers are familiar with her as a person and detective and know what to expect of her in dangerous situations. What is also interesting is that Private Investigator Cass Raines, the protagonist of Clark's earlier Chicago Mystery series, makes a memorable appearance in this book, having been hired by the girl's troubled parents. It's fun to see how Cass and her team vie with the detectives to be the first to discover new information that will help with the investigation, and this rivalry adds a much-needed touch of humanity to what is otherwise a deadly story. I hope we will see Cass in future series entries.
My review is based on a complimentary pre-release copy of this book.
November 27, 2025
Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the ALC of Edge by Tracy Clark.
Edge follows Detective Harriet "Harry" Foster as she and her team try to find the source of a new and deadly street drug known as Edge which is killing users. The story starts with one death, and one near death of the niece of one of Harry's colleagues and as the story unravels we learn of how deep the problem goes. This is a multi POV book following key players in the story but with a focus on Harry.
The pacing is good and the twists and turns unravel at a steady pace leaving the reader to try to work out what's going on. Whilst there are few big reveals like we see in the likes of Freida McFadden there are a number of middling reveals that keep the reader interested and on their toes. The characters are varied and believable and there is no tedious exposition or lengthy backstory as that is weaved into the plot.
From an audiobook standpoint I really enjoyed the narration. It was well paced, there was good differentiation between characters and it felt authentic to the area and any regional dialects.
I haven't read the books before this one and this didn't really affect my enjoyment or understanding at all so I'd you haven't read the others don't be put off, this one works well as a standalone too! I will however be reading the previous 3 as I really enjoyed the author's style and the story.
Edge follows Detective Harriet "Harry" Foster as she and her team try to find the source of a new and deadly street drug known as Edge which is killing users. The story starts with one death, and one near death of the niece of one of Harry's colleagues and as the story unravels we learn of how deep the problem goes. This is a multi POV book following key players in the story but with a focus on Harry.
The pacing is good and the twists and turns unravel at a steady pace leaving the reader to try to work out what's going on. Whilst there are few big reveals like we see in the likes of Freida McFadden there are a number of middling reveals that keep the reader interested and on their toes. The characters are varied and believable and there is no tedious exposition or lengthy backstory as that is weaved into the plot.
From an audiobook standpoint I really enjoyed the narration. It was well paced, there was good differentiation between characters and it felt authentic to the area and any regional dialects.
I haven't read the books before this one and this didn't really affect my enjoyment or understanding at all so I'd you haven't read the others don't be put off, this one works well as a standalone too! I will however be reading the previous 3 as I really enjoyed the author's style and the story.
December 2, 2025
I love a good gritty police procedural, so I was excited to be introduced to the Detective Harriet Foster Series, with its latest installment, 𝘌𝘥𝘨𝘦. The entire series offers suspense, roller-coaster emotions, and characters that you’ll love spending time with.
Immediately, I found Chicago Police Department Detective Harriet “Harri” Foster extremely likable. Although she can banter with the best of them, there is a vulnerable side of her that is still struggling with insurmountable grief and the suspicion that hangs over her.
Her latest case delves into deaths that appear to be related to a tainted drug called Edge. Harri, along with fellow detectives, must track down the source of this drug before many more deaths occur. It’s a race against time, and the situations, both Harriet’s personal issues and the crimes, are heartbreaking; they felt real and raw.
While this 4th book can be read as a standalone, I recommend reading some or all of the prior books to learn Harriet’s backstory and meet other key characters.
🎧I had the pleasure of sharing my reading time with the audiobook narrated by Chanté McCormick. Chanté is a new narrator to me, and I thought she did a great job capturing Harriet. She gave her a voice and personality that embodied her toughness without masking her vulnerabilities.
Thank you @kayepublicity and @tclarkwrites for these gifted books. Thank you @brilliancepublishing for the gifted audiobook via @NetGalley.
December 18, 2025
Rating: 3.5 stars
Guess what ... this series isn't a trilogy as I had thought. Edge is the 4th (and most recent) book in the Detective Harriet Foster series. Even if new readers start with this book, they won't feel lost. The main crime starts and ends within Edge. I admire how strong the female, as well as the male, police officers and detectives are throughout the story.
SUMMARY: Chicago’s finest are scouring the city for a tainted new opioid making the rounds, but they’re coming up empty. With five people already dead—a college kid, a new mother, and three poker players—all they really know is the drug’s Edge. Where it’s coming from is still anyone’s guess.
Detective Harriet Foster doesn’t have time for guessing games. She needs answers. And when the next overdose hits Homicide where it hurts most, Harri is determined to get what she wants. But keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder than expected. Still reeling from her last case (and the stain of suspicion it left on her career), Harri finds herself at a tipping point. The drug isn’t the only edge she needs to worry about. If she can’t come back from her own, there’s no telling whether this investigation will lead to a satisfying conclusion…or her own demise.
Guess what ... this series isn't a trilogy as I had thought. Edge is the 4th (and most recent) book in the Detective Harriet Foster series. Even if new readers start with this book, they won't feel lost. The main crime starts and ends within Edge. I admire how strong the female, as well as the male, police officers and detectives are throughout the story.
SUMMARY: Chicago’s finest are scouring the city for a tainted new opioid making the rounds, but they’re coming up empty. With five people already dead—a college kid, a new mother, and three poker players—all they really know is the drug’s Edge. Where it’s coming from is still anyone’s guess.
Detective Harriet Foster doesn’t have time for guessing games. She needs answers. And when the next overdose hits Homicide where it hurts most, Harri is determined to get what she wants. But keeping her eyes squarely on the prize proves harder than expected. Still reeling from her last case (and the stain of suspicion it left on her career), Harri finds herself at a tipping point. The drug isn’t the only edge she needs to worry about. If she can’t come back from her own, there’s no telling whether this investigation will lead to a satisfying conclusion…or her own demise.
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